Just A Mistake
by GoddessOfTechnology
Summary: It was a mistake. Just a mistake. But mistakes can be cruel things, even if made with the best of intentions...(rated T for blood) (sequel now posted)


**A/N: WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR STOMACH.  
**

 **...I have no excuse. I was in a bad mood. Life sucked. I hated everything. So I wrote this.**

 **Sue me.**

 **Disclaimer: No, I don't own.  
**

* * *

" _Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new_ "-Albert Einstein.

* * *

Darkness overwhelmed his senses, burying him in a suffocating grave of pain and fear and loss and heartbreak. He struggled to bring stale air into shrunken lungs, his panic preventing him from taking a large enough breath. The stench of blood and tears was overpowering, bringing him to the point of nausea, and the oppressive darkness only served to worsen his queasiness as his panic levels rose.

Nervous pale fingers clawed at his arms as the child tried and failed to loosen his magic-strengthened bonds. Bonds that had been tightened almost painfully by those he had considered friends.

Where had he gone wrong? Where had he messed up? Why, _why_ were they so angry at him?

His shoulders shook as sobs ripped past his throat. Whatever it was they were upset at him for, he was _sorry_. He hadn't meant to hurt them. He was so, so _sorry_.

"Let me out…"

Nails scraped at his restraints, peeling away thin strips of skin as he struggled to loosen them even a little. He had to get away from here, from the confinement and the darkness and the pain. He was a nature spirit, after all, and he was not meant to be restricted. He wanted, _needed_ to be outside, where he could feel the wind caressing his face and hear the rustling of the leaves...

 _I have to get out...I have to get out...I'll go mad if I don't get out soon…_

"Let me out!"

The darkness, the terrible, terrible darkness stole his words as soon as they left his lips, swallowing them in a heavy, burdensome silence. He scrabbled desperately at the stone floor beneath him, chains rattling harshly as he broke and bloodied his nails against the unyielding surface. Desperate whimpers forced their way from him as his panic soared to new levels. Vaguely, the rational part of his brain tried to tell him that panicking would not help resolve the situation, but he was too frantic to listen to it. He was far past the point of rational thinking, his only thought to get out, and _get out now._

 _Get out get out get out getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutGETOUTNOW!_

" _LET ME OUT!"_

The cell door burst open, light filling the bare stone room, and for a moment he hoped that it was over, that the nightmare was finished, that his family was back to their senses and that he would be free to dance and fly with the wind again…

Then he saw the fury in the amethyst gaze of his captor, and his hopes were dashed cruelly against the rocks, like a rotten, fragile ocean schooner against a coral reef.

The feathered female in front of him stared at him coldly, her voice like a smooth and shimmering glacier. "You should know by now that we will not let you go until you tell us where Jack is."

He didn't care that his voice sounded frenzied and urgent, for his sense of dignity had long been robbed by the darkness and the pain. "I've already _told_ you, I'm Jack! Tooth—"

"You're lying."

"I'm not! I swear I'm not!"

Her teeth gritted as grief and outrage seeped into her voice, and she stepped forward until she was right in front of him, her eyes blazing furiously. " _Don't lie to me. Don't you dare tell those lies to my face._ "

"They're not lies! I swear, they aren't! Honest!"

"Stop it."

"Tooth, listen to me."

" _Stop. It."_

"Tooth—"

" _Stop_ _ **lying**_ _to me, impostor!"_

He cried out in pain as a raging fist connected with his cheek, knocking the back of his head into the wall behind him, blood filling his mouth as one of his snowy teeth was knocked loose by the blow. A small foot was soon to follow, colliding with his ribs and causing him to double over in agony.

The fairy in front of him panted, her purple eyes filled with tears and ire, her body shaking. She spoke, her voice trembling and filled with anguish and sorrow. "How _dare_ you. How _dare_ you pretend to be someone who is far better a spirit than you could ever be. How _dare_ you stand there, wearing his face and his voice, when he himself is probably at this moment being tortured by your friends! _How dare you!"_

Her chest heaved as she glared at him, he himself stunned into silence by her outburst. Huffing, the fairy stomped harshly on his fingers before turning on her heel and heading towards the exit, the light from beyond the door causing her turquoise feathers to glitter like a thousand stars.

"I hope you burn in hell, shapeshifter."

Then, she was out the door, and before he could stop her, she had slammed it shut behind herself.

Once more, darkness reigned, and his quiet sobs went unheard.

* * *

" _Where is he?_ "

He couldn't breathe, the darkness weighing down on him, as did the paws pressing him against the wall. A strained whimper made itself heard as he struggled to free himself.

"L-let me go!"

Dangerous emerald eyes, sparkling with faint traces of madness, stared into his own cerulean orbs. "And let ya get away with this? No, mate, not on yer nelly."

The paws pulled him away from the wall before slamming him roughly back into it, drawing a tormented whine from the teen as the impact jarred his cracked ribs. His crimson-stained fingers grasped despairingly at the gray fur of the Pooka, chest heaving in the throes of hysteria.

"No! Please! B-Bunny, please stop this! You don't know what you're d-doing—"

"I know perfectly well what I'm doin', ya drongo. I'm finding out where my brother is. Now, tell me where Jack is and I'll leave ya alone."

At any other time, in any other circumstances, Jack would have responded with his trademark grin and a sarcastic comment, but the darkness and the pain had worn away too much of his reason for him to hide behind familiar masks of true coldness and flippancy. It was perhaps because of this that his next words came out in a feeble, plaintive voice. "Please...Bunny, please, just listen to me. You have to believe me. I'm Ja—"

"STOP SAYIN' THAT!"

He cried out in distress and shock as he was once again slammed against the hard, cold wall, the force of the blow causing some of his already cracked ribs to crunch painfully. Claws buried themselves deep in his shoulders, as a hate-filled voice hissed in his ear. "Dontcha _dare_ pretend ta be Jack, ya sneaky shapeshiftin' ratbag, cause I won't stand for it. I won't let ya get away with imitatin' him, and I won't stand by and watch ya wear his face like a bleeding mask."

The paws yanked him sharply away from the wall, drawing an agonized yelp from him as his ribs were jostled. He was jerked up to eye-level with his tormentor, pleading blue staring into vengeful green as they begged, _begged_ Bunny to listen, to wait, to _stop…_

Slam.

"Now listen to me mate, and listen good."

Slam.

"I don't understand why ya seem ta think ya can pull the wool over our eyes..."

Slam.

"...but if ya want to continue playin' this game..."

Slam.

"...then fine. Let's _play."_

Screams followed soon after, as pain followed in darkness's wake.

* * *

 _Whip, crack._

He winced visibly as the sand whip snapped perilously close to his right ear. While the little golden man had yet to hurt him, the snapping of the whip near his face was almost as bad, if not worse. It spoke of fast-approaching misery, of stings and cuts and lacerations weeping red. It strained his nerves with the anticipation of future pain until he was almost ready to scream at the man to _just get on with it already!_

 _Whip, crack._

He flinched. This time, the lash had come to within an inch of his cheek, the very tip of the golden stand brushing lightly against pale skin. For the umpteenth time, the frost child attempted to shift away from the deadly ropes, and for the umpteenth time, his chains restricted his movements. He didn't even know why he was bothering to struggle anymore. Instinct, maybe?

 _Whip, crack._

The whip snapped again, painfully close to his neck, and with it snapped his nerve. " _Stop it!_ "

Yellow sand abruptly wrapped itself around his neck, dragging him forward and jerking his arms against their restraints. Golden brown eyes glared at him mercilessly, as three images appeared above his head in rapid succession.

A snowflake, a map, a question mark.

The question was easy to grasp. However, that didn't make it easy to answer. Tears welled up in sapphire eyes, and Jack bowed his head in expectation of future pain. "...Right in front of you."

Silence.

Jack raised his head a quarter of an inch, his breath stilling. Did the older Guardian believe him? Was the nightmare finally over? Would he be freed at last from the darkness and the pain? He hardly dared to hope, but maybe-

 _Slam._

Then again, maybe not.

The winter child groaned as pain shot through his entire body. He slumped, his recent collision with the wall sapping all of his strength, forcing him to breath heavily.

When he finally managed to gather enough willpower to look back up, it was to the sight of a rage-filled Sandman, whose eyes were filled with heartache and accusation. Briefly, Jack felt a flash of compassion for the man. He himself had felt such emotions on the Sandman's death…

 _Whip, crack._

Of course, that all flew away like leaves in the wind when a whip cracked right in front of his eyes.

* * *

Cold, stinging steel gently caressed his vulnerable neck, sending a shiver of fear up his spine as he cringed away. The man's voice, rumbling and growling with menacing intent, made him think of avalanches and mudslides, and how they would bury a helpless soul in pain and darkness.

"Now, for the last time, where is Jack?"

He looked away, cold blue eyes dull and clouded. He was so tired. Tired of the pain. Tired of the darkness. Tired of hoping with all his might, only to be crushed once again.

He was doomed. Doomed to a miserable existence where he hung on to an increasingly-fragile string of hope as he waited for the day that would never come. It was becoming clearer and clearer that, no matter what he said, he would always be surrounded by pain and darkness.

It was time to accept it.

"I ask you again, where is Jack?"

He turned his steady blue gaze on the man before him, pondering his answer, before speaking, his throat suddenly dry.

"...I don't know."

In that moment, it was not a lie, but the cruel, cruel truth.

* * *

"If you aren't going to cooperate, then I suppose we'll simply leave you here until you do."

"When yer ready ta talk, we'll come."

"Try not to take too long, though, da?"

 _A lock and a key in golden sand._

That had been half-an-hour ago. Half-an-hour since he had been consigned to solitude, doomed to remain alone for all eternity.

He leaned his back against the wall, hissing as his abused ribs shifted painfully. Once he was in a more or less comfortable position, the winter spirit sighed as he closed his eyes and resigned himself to endless pain…

...and darkness…

...and solitude.

* * *

 _...The kidnapping of Jack Frost happened on October 5th, 2015. Reportedly, the Head High Seasonal was taken by a group of shape-shifters, highly volatile spirits with a cruel disposition. After six months of hearing not a word from the winter spirit, we gave him up for lost, and the search for a replacement began._

 _However, more than a year after the incident, on November 7th, 2016, a shape-shifter was found in the guise of the missing spirit. At first, we believed that he was the true spirit of winter, but after it was found that the spirit was unable to perform any actual winter magic, he was soon uncovered for the impostor that he was. The Guardians of Childhood, who have so gracefully volunteered to aid us in finding Jack Frost, are at this moment interrogating the shape-shifter._

 _We hope to find our winter spirit soon._ *****

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 ***Passage in italics taken directly from the archives held in the Winter Court.**

 **...I think Tooth is a bit OOC, but I don't know about the others...**

 **...Review?**


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